Conquest and Controversy in Qur'an Commentaries

My research on the "Common Word" verse (Q3:64) led me to the Muslim story of a letter from Muhammad to the Byzantine emperor Heraclius. A colleague questioned whether this story turned Q3:64 in the direction of violence toward non-Muslims, so I decided to investigate. I discovered what certainly seems to be an early Muslim attempt to justify the Arab conquests. Feel free to comment below on the issues raise by this article.